Apparatus for ejecting containers and filling popcorn thereinto



W. E. CLARK ET AL APPARATUS FOR EJECTING CONTAINERS AND FILLING POPCORNTHEREINTO Feb. 9, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 4, 1950 14541.13 ECZARK, db/0v BEALL,

NVENTORS.

1954 w. E. CLARK ET AL APPARATUS FOR EJECTING CONTAINERS AND FILLINGPOPCORN THEREINTO '4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 4, 1950 Cao 5f CZAEK,dbHNVE INVENTORS. wwflfi MAL/6 6 854.41.,

W. E. CLARK ET AL APPARATUS FOR EJECTING CONTAINERS AND FILLING POPCORNTHEREINTO Feb. 9, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 4, 1950 n w AINVENTORS.

14 7- TOE/V5).

4 74 71.; 5,. CLARK,

dc 9H w. E. CLARK ET AL 2,668,6 9 APPARATUS FOR EJECTING CONTAINERS ANDFILLING POPCORN THEREINTO Filed March 4, 1950 4 Sheets-$heet 4 Feb 9,1954 IViLL/S E: CLARK,

N BE'ALL INVENTOR Patented Feb. 9, 1954 :-APPARATUS FOR. EJECTINGCONTAINERS AND FILLING POPCORN- THEREINTO I Willis ErClark and John ElBall, i IiosrAngeles', Calif.

Aliplic atiofi Mafch4, 1950, SriaTNo. 147,671

13 Claims.

This "inventionrela'tes. generally to improved dispensers :andparticularly to apparatus If or successively dispensing measuredquantities of "popcornfinto sfiitable containers. In certain f" itsaspects,'the invention'may be considered animpro'vement'on the apparatusdisclosed in application Serial.Number 46,597; filed August V 28,"i9'48y-byIEarnestE:*Martin. The present applicationis"also closelyrelated to our copending application Serial" 'Number 147,672, and showsce'rtain'features "of dispenser construction which aremore;specificallydescribed and"claimed in that application.

A'm'ajor obiectof'the presentinvention is to -provide a coin actuateddispensing machine'operable torapidly'and effectively deliver a quantity'of cornfrom astoragechamheror hopper into a collectionichamb'er randtheninto a mechanically ejected positioned box or other container.'Dispensers'embodying the'inventi'on are particularly adapted forcompletely automatic operation'fin which insertion "of a coin acts toinitiate a series .of;operations culminating, without further actionbytheoperator, inthe delivery of a filledcontainerto a receivinglocation. .Aswill appear, such'rapid and automatic delivery is effectedby a unique control arrangement and automatictimingsequence, which isconsidered an important feature of the invention.

.i A flirtherl feature of the. invention is to providedispensingapparatus adapted to'ra'pidly and preferably automaticallydeliver a filled containerof corn in'the above manner, and in which thecorn. istransferred between thestorage' chamher and collectionchamber-by 'air entrainment past a transparent window within the sight'ofan ioperator, tofthusJattain anieye catchingeffect similar to. thatcontemplated in the above Martin application.

I'Eurther; features. of the invention involve a preferred form ofcontainer ejecting mechanism .operableito automatically feed. a singlecontainer from a supply. of containers to a corndeliverylocationuponeach operation of the, machine. As in'Tthe malchine. .as a.whole, this. container 'ej ectipgmechanisrnhas been especially designedfor ektremerap'idity of ,oper'ationvwhile at the same -time/.-a ssu1:ing;theiefiective and positive handling bf successive containers.

accordance with'ithe' invention, the .appae .r'atusisoperable.uponvreception Jofv a coin to tcansfer. cornlfrom. a storage chamber.to. a col- .lect,io,n charnherandto feed asingle box or-other econnerto. aledelivery.location-,..af ter which the chamber'into the 'box. ZThetransfer-of cornrmay 'beitimeol'to continueior a; predetermined "periodsuficientto fill or 'overfill'theicollection chamber and .to thenautomatically cease. -Furtherjthe 'dispensing of. the "cornfrom thecollection chamber into a box may be eiiect'ed' automatically and intimed relation withthe'corn transfer'and box 'ejectionoperationstoattain completely-automatic 'corn'"may"be transferred and 'theibox Iejected simultaneously, to be followed by "automatic dispensing of thetransierredcornintothe'box.

J 'The fcontainer" ejector acts first; 'up0n""each joperation'oftheidispenser, to'move a'sin'gle conr tainer outwardly from, a:nested'positiomwit'hin aist'ack offl'c'ontainers; after which 'it"laterally ejects;the"fcontainerintoi a holder "at -the corn deliverylocation. Thislateral ejection maybe accomplished with maximum facility:andin "an extremely short intervaliof timetbyimeansbf' a resilientspring: or "the like; which may be resiliently deformed *or'iconditionedfor ej ection' by 'theinitial'outward movementiof acontain'erfrom itsnested position. We have'also providedmea'ns for "preventing thedelivery of. more "thanrone .con'tainerupon a""'singleoperation, as"wellfas "meansior advancing'thesupply orista'ck of containers apredetermined distance upon e'ach'actu- .atlon toisuccess'ivelyv advancethe'iindividual containers into? position "for ej ection.

,Thefa'bove and runner featuresand objects of 'the'ipresent' inventionwill be' better: understood from the following detailed descriptionofthe typical embodiment "illustrated? inf'f the. accompanying drawings,in which:

Fig 1 is afro'ntlview of apresently preferred form of popcorn dispenser;withthe fro'ntwall partly broken-j.away toreveal certain of' theinterior mechanism;

."eliig 2 isia central vertical sectionthrorigh the, dispenseretakenonline 2-.-2 ofEig. '1;

. Eig. 3.,is. an enlarged fragmentary perspective View of the box.Iejecting mechanism;

jEE'ig; lis aidetailed. perspective. view iofthe 'elevator'l drivingratchet mechanism;

"'Eig', Seisanemarg'ed fragmentary view of the elevator driving ratchettaken on line -5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a preferred form of popcorn boxespecially designed for use with the present dispensing apparatus;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side view of the lower portion of the boxejecting mechanism in its normal condition;

Fig. 8 is a view corresponding to Fig. '7 but showing the apparatusduring its box ejecting movement;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of an upper portion of thebox ejecting mechanism and showing especially the means for actuatingthe stops for preventing upward movement of more than one box during anejecting operation;

Fig. 10 is a view corresponding to Fig. 9 and showing the stops in theirreleased positions for permitting elevation of the supply of boxes;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary front view of the upper portion ofthe box ejecting mechanism in its normal condition;

Fig. 12 is a view corresponding to Fig. 11 and showing the ejectingapparatus at the moment when an upper box has been elevated from itsnested position within the stack of boxes and is being laterally ejectedto a corn delivery location.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary front view of the box stack elevatingmechanism;

Fig. 14 is a transverse section taken on line l4|4 of Fig. 13; and

Fig. 15 is a diagrammatical representation of the electrical controlcircuit of the dispenser.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the present popcorn dispensercomprises essentially a housing I0 having an upper transparent dome ll,

and containing a popcorn storage chamber 12, a

collection chamber [3, a blower l4 for creating an upward flow of air totransfer popcorn from the storage chamber ast transparent dome II andinto the measuring chamber, box ejecting mechanism l5 for individuallyfeeding cartons into a supporting cage l6 beneath the collectionchamber, a valve or sliding plate I! for dispensing the corn from themeasuring chamber into an ejected box, and a coin responsive control l8.

Housing I0 is essentially rectangular in shape, and carries at its fronta door l9 hinged along one side at 2B and adapted to be locked in closedcondition as by suitable key controlled locks 2!. Door i9 contains adelivery opening 22 through which an operator may remove a filled box ofcorn from cage it after a coin has been inserted into mechanism [8 andthe apparatus has completed a delivery cycle. Opening 22 is normallyclosed by plastic door 23 which is suitably guided for downward slidingmovement to an open condition in which the filled box of corn may beremoved. A bracket 2% extends downwardly from the lower edge of door 23and is attached at its lower end to cord 25, which extends upwardlyabout a pulley 26 and then downwardly to carry 7 vertical extent.

mitted by the escape of air from cylinder 28 through restricted opening29.

At the sides of cage [6, the mainhousing door l9 carries a pair ofvertical walls 38, forming with the forward wall 3| of the main portionof the housing a closed-wall delivery recess at the rear of door 23.Grating 32 forms the bottom of this recess and permits downward passageof any spilled corn through tapering chute 33 into a removable wastecontainer 34 carried by the door.

At the bottom of the housing, a relatively small compartment 35 containsa pair of timers TI and T2 for controlling the operation of thedispenser. Coin control [3, which may be of any known type, is mountedto the door, and comprises an upper coin receiving slot 38, a suitableslug rejector 39, a coin return button 40 and opening I48, and a coinactuated micro-switch 41 whose momentary closing upon reception of acoin acts to initate the sequence of operations which delivers a filledbox of corn into cage I6.

The top of the housing is closed by a cover 2l9 hinged to the rear ofthe housing at 220. The transparent elongated dome ll extends betweenthe front and rear edges of this cover at a central location. The frontportion of the cover may be adapted to contain display popcorn at eitherside of dome H, as at 22! in Fig. 1.

Storage chamber l2 extends vertically along the rear of the housing, andis essentially rectangular in horizontal section along most of its Thelower end of the storage chamber tapers at 42 to a reduced opening 43containing screen 44 through which blower I4 directs an upwardly movingstream. of air. The blower, which is driven by an electric motor 65,communicates with the bottom of the storage chamber through an angularlyextending air inlet line .6. Electrical heaters 41, extending along thedownwardly converging portion of the storage chamber, heat that com inthe bottom of the storage chamber which will next be dispensed, and alsoheat the boxes which are to receive the dispensed corn. Verticallyextending tube 48 is mounted within the storage chamber at a locationspaced from the bottom of the chamber and acts to direct the stream ofair from blower I4 upwardly within the chamber and toward transparentdome II. By virtue of the spaced relation of the bottom of tube 48 withthe bottom of the storage chamber, corn falls downwardly within thechamber beneath tube it to be entrained and carried upwardly within thetube by the stream of air from the blower. At the upper end of tube 48,the housing carries a forwardly curving deflecting plate 49 adapted todirect the upward stream of air and entrained corn forwardly along theinside of transparent dome I I to be viewed by an operator of themachine and to then fall downwardly into measuring chamber i 3.

Measuring or collection chamber I3 extends vertically above box holdingcage l6 and is adapted to contain only a pre-determined quantity of cornsufiicient to fill a single box and to overflow downwardly into thestorage chamber any corn received in excess of that pre-determinedquantity. To facilitate such overflow of the corn, an inclined plate 5!extends about the upper end of the measuring chamber to direct theexcess corn downwardly into the storage chamber. The collection chamberis normally closed at its bottom by a suitable sliding plate or valve l1adapted to be automatically opened by solenoid 53, which is mechanicallyconnected to to member 59. Each swinging movement of arm I04 istransmitted to the movable jaw through a rod or wire I06, whose downwardjaw closing movement is limited at the over center position of Fig. 11by a suitable stop I01. As will be understood, movement of the jawactuating mechanism to this over center position acts to lock the jaw inits closed position and assure tight retention of the upper edge of thebox during the upward movement of the box to its Fig. 12 position. Thejaws are normally in the closed condition of Fig. 11, so thatenergization of the drive motor 62 immediately starts the elevation ofthe upper box to the ejection position of Fig. 12. Upon arrival at thisupper position, arm I94 engages the upper cross piece I08 of inverted U-shaped member I09, which extends upwardly from angles II! on guide 56,and such engagement with cross piece I08 acts to prevent further upwardmovement of the engaged portion of arm I04 to thereby swing arm I04 toits jaw opening position as member 59 continues upwardly a shortdistance to the broken line position of Fig. 12. The jaws are thusopened, and springs 60 are free to laterally eject the box to itsdelivery location.

After such ejection of a box, motor 62 continues to rotate andconsequently moves member 59 downwardly to its original position. Uponarrival at its lowest position, jaw I03 is automatically closed totightly grip the upper edge of the next successive box in preparationfor the next operation of the machine. For this purpose, an actuatingrod H is guided by blocks 94 and 95 for vertical movement alongside thevertically extending portion of member 59, and has at its upper end ashort horizontal portion I I I engageable with the underside of arm I04to swing that arm to its jaw closing position. At its lower end, rod H0is pivotally connected at II2 to a lever element II3, which is pivotedto the stationary guide 56 at I I4 and which carries at its inner end anupwardly extending adjustable screw H5 engageable with an operating earI I6 on lever arm 96. Upon movement of member 59 and arm 96 downwardlyto their normal lowest positions, ear II6 on arm 96 engages screw H5 topivot lever element II3 about its fulcrum point H4 and in turn elevaterod H0 in a manner actuating arm I94 to its over center jaw closingposition.

The two box ejecting leaf springs 69 are rigidly mounted at their lowerends to angles II'I through screws I I8, and normally tend to return tothe upwardly and inwardly curving positions of Fig. 11. At its upperend, each spring forms a hook portion II9 which limits upward movementof the box in the Fig. 12 ejection position. As a box is moved upwardlybetween the position of Fig. 11 and the ejection position of Fig. 12, itresiliently deflects springs 60 to the full line position of Fig. 12.Upon automatic release of the jaws, springs 60 then tend to return totheir normal position of Fig. 11 (shown in broken lines in Fig. 12) tolaterally and forcefully eject the box into delivery cage I6.

To prevent upward movement of more than one box with member 59, weprovide a pair of stops 6| engageable with the top edges of the secondbox in a stack and preventing its upward movement. These stops arenormally in their inner active positions of Fig. 9, and areautomatically moved outwardly to their inactive positions of Fig. duringupward movement of the elevator, to permit upwardadvancement of theentire stack of boxes at that time. Each stop 6| is carried by awirelike body I2I which extends first downwardly and then horizontally,and is mounted for swinging movement about the axis of its horizontallyextending portion by a bearing I20 attached to guide 56. At the side ofguide 56, stop carrying body I2I forms a crank throw IZI, which isconnected through link I24 to an actuating arm I22 pivoted at I23 to thestationary box guide. A stop I25 limits the swinging movement of eachcrank throw I 2I to determine the inner box engaging position of thecorresponding movable stop 6I. The two actuating arms I22 are normallyurged together by an interconnecting spring I26 to retain the twomovable stops 6| in their inner positions. Upon upward movement ofmember 59, a lug I21 carried by the depending portion 93 of that memberengages the inner surface of arms I22 to simultaneously actuate thosearms in a manner releasing stops 6|. While these stops are released, theelevator is automatically moved upwardly by the previously described camcontrolled mechanism to move the next successive box into position forlateral ejection.

Referring now to Fig. 15, current is supplied to the apparatus through apair of supply lines I28 and I29, which lead to heaters 41 through lineI30, thermostatic controls I3I and line I32. Line I28 connects with eachof the control timers TI and T2, and line I29 leads to these timersthrough a coin control switch I34 and a holding coil I35, which isoperable to close a circuit about switch I34 by actuation of switch I36.The box ejector motor 62 and the pump motor 45 are connected in parallelthrough lines 234 to timer TI, which energizes these motors for apredetermined timed period after initial closing of the circuit by coincontrolled actuation of microswitch I34. Timer T2, which is preferablyof known electronic type, acts to automatically energize corn dispensingsolenoid 53 through lines 235 after TI has de-energized the blower andbox ejector, and retains the solenoid in its dispensing valve actuatingposition for a predetermined period suificient to completely dispensethe contents of the measuring chamber before permitting it to againclose.

Inusing the illustrated dispensing machine, popped corn is first placedin storage chamber I2, and a stack of nested boxes of the type shown inFig. 6- are placed on elevator 58 between vertical stationary guides 56and 51 of the box ejecting mechanism. Downward movement of the elevator,during such insertion of the boxes, is permitted by releasing latch 12through inward movement of button 80, as previously described.Electrical supply lines I28 and I29 are then connected to a suitablesource of electrical energy, typically a volt alternating currentsupply.

An operator inserts a coin into slot 38, and the coin in passingdownwardly within the coin control mechanism momentarily actuatesmicroswitch I34 to close the circuits to both timers TI and T2. Suchmomentary closing of this circuit also energizes holding coil I35 toclose switch I36 and maintain the electrical supply circuit closed evenafter the opening of microswitch I34. Immediately upon the closing ofthe coin controlled circuit, timer TI simultaneously energizes boxejecting motor '62 and blower motor '45. The blower then creates anupward flow of air entraining a quantity of corn from the storagechamber, through tube 48, against deflecting plate 49, along the insideof transparent dome I I within the sight of an 9' operator; anddownwardly into measuring cham ioer I 3*! Any excess corntransferred bythissti'eam-'-of 'ai-r overfldWeflownWardly --into* thestorage;chamber.--* The-period of actuation of the-blower is predetermined and:of suffuzient 5 length to *overfiii the measuring-chamber," thusassuring the delivery of'a -fu11' measurecf corn to the operator.

The circuit to 'motor' 8 2 'of' -'-the' -box-' ejecting mechanism -'is"closed for a period siifliient -to rotate'* the motor drivensha'ftthrough exactly one rev01uti'on',"to threbYeject a single boxinto' cage- I65 Reviewingbriefly the-manner of op eration of 'thebox 'ejecti'ng' mechanism, jaws l 02= and "103" are 'normally =c1o'se'd *about='-the upper edge of the top box -in-the stack? and Stops -6 lnormal-13'?- preventupwardmovement I ofthe sec 0nd box in thestackuAsmotor-BI then-rotates from 'thenormal posit-iorr of Fig; 7, arm fliisswung-upwardlyby crank 'arm'QB and connecting arm- '-9 9* to move member59 upwardly and carry the top-box in the-stack-to the position of'-Fi"g.12. U'p'on arrival'at the" position of Fig; 12g'arm' 'l (W is-swungdownwardly- =reiative --to member I 59 by engagementwith -cross-pie'ce I08- of member" I 09' to release the-box from the-grippingja'ws. Member'-5& then-continuesits upwardmovement-andthebox islaterally-deflected into" cage I I6 by the tensionof -lea-f springs 60.Cont-in-uedoperatiorr'of the motor-swings arm-"96' downwardly to movemembertaback'to itspositionof Fig. 11 thejaWsebeing-tightly closed aboutthe next successive upper box by upward -movement ofrod i ['11-uponarrival 'ofmembe'r 59 at'its lower"--= most posit-ion While member'-Sfiisinthe-upper part of its" travel, lstops 61"- are outwardlydefiected- 10y en-- gagement' of' Iug 121* with the inner I surfaces oflever "arms-1221 During the'period that thesestops-are thus-'outward1y*'defiectedy ca'm 8 I acts to pivot lever element 82 aboutits fulcrum point 881' to iower ratchet-element 12 a distance" sufl'i'cient'tofadvancei chains "68 the- 'iehgth of-"oneo'fthan-links:Suchmovementofthe 1 chains raises"the' reievator a "predetermineddistance corresponding tovthe distance between'thelipp'en edgesmf:successive" boxes" in the stack; as -determined by thepositiohin'gofboxiu'gs 90": Such upward movement "of" the elevator; advances the".nextsucce'ssrVe box to; the position of; the" top boxi'n Fig'z ll inpreparation for its ejection on thenextoperatioir ofthe'machihe:As"member 59*retu'rns ..to itsf'lower position; 1112121. moves away,from. its. engagement with. arms l22"toi permitr'eturn of stops' 6! backto their'active positions.

Tiifier. iTfiautomaticallyf,rdeenergizes, motor 62'. and motor after theformer has ,r0ta'ted shaft lfifthrioug'hflone com lete revolution andafter ,the. latter. has, transferred, enough? corn to; ioverfilljririeasuring.v chamber-x 131 'IiriierMTZi then energizes; solenoid; 53:to. release; the; measured jcorn from chamber |3l;ldownwar-d1y1,into'the..box. whichhas beenr ejected intov cag'e..l6. TIf operator mayithnopen plastic; door. 23.. to; remove the filIe'd-box .of corn...

We. :claiim.

1. ,A .pqpcorn .dis'penser, comprising a storage chamberlforficontainin'g, popcorn to be dispensed a ..co11ction Mcha'rhbn.means: for. transferring corn from the storage, chamber into? the,collcr tioachamber, means....for holding ;'a supply of containers, meansfoi'ie'edingaa container from saidis'upplyihdldeii tola deliverylocation, common coin responsive control means controlling said comtransferrin-"gmeans and 'aidcontainer-med ing means-and operable"- torendei-=theii1 effective to transfer a quantity of corn to th collectionchamber and tweed-a container to the delivery location; and -iii's'oehsing means for-discharging: the l corn from said colleetioh chambrand"- .p'o sitiohe'd to-"ie'iiver the' corn into' the/container: at saiddeliver-y looatio ollection ichamb'err and-"tiispensing mean s bein:construc'ted totirefa. ta-i-ntiie transferredecornagainsti'dischargerfrorm the-collection: chamber duringvtheutransferxof; com ther'etov 25 A popcorn dispensers; comprisingu'astorage: chamber for containing: popcorn to be: dispeiised a collection'chamber,means i011: transferring; corn from the-storage chamber?intoiithercolleee; tion chamber, means foi rhol'dingaza n'supply- .rof;coi'itaine rspi'nea'ns' for'ie'eding: a container; from: said-supplyholder :to': a delivery. loc'atiomacoma-n momcoin' responsive control fimeans" controlling? said corn transferring ineansand. said container;feeding meanaand bperableto render: themnefr-a fecti've -to transier aquantity: oiucornvtouthe; collection-chamber and to feed a containerctozthe deliverylocation; automaticiscontrol': means; operable toautomaticallyedeenergizesthea acorn transferring means aiter: its-'1energizatiomifor. "a period 'suflicienttoafill' thewcoil'ecti'on.chamber and dispensing means for discharging the? iconic from-said-colleetion "chamber: and: .pos'itioriednto;

deliver the --corn' i'nto athewcontainenatz'said: flat-s liverylocationsaid collection. rchamberiandzidisis peneing' means beingcor-istruotedaztoixretain:th e: transferred corn against discharge fromthzcolei letion 1 chamber du'rm'g theitransfen of corn thereto;

3. -A popcorn dispeiiser compnisiirgzsa ;storage:: chamber forcontainingfipopcorn tozbe: dis'pen'sed,: it collection chamber; means101': zt'ransferri'rig: earn from the storage chamb e'r 'intoil the'.comm: tion chamber;' nceans vfor 'hoidinga .su'pply: of. containers;-mansii0r feeding-a container: from: s'a-id 'supply holder to -adelivery ".locati0n,:.;disi-:.;' pen-sing means for discharging corn'efromrri coilectiori cham'ber and positioneduto deliventhez corn into acontainer: at 1 said; delivery location; coin responsive "control means:controlling asaid: corn transferringmeans and said icontaine feedingmeansand.- operable to rend'eicwthem efi. fective to I transfer aquantity efcorn to the: collection chamberand to fe'ed a *container to:-the deliveryr -lo'o'ation' and autamatiwcofitrol: means operablo toautomatically energize Said dispensing-meansitoixiiepense the corn fromthei coHect-i'on chambei into the container after ener z' ization ofaid. corn-transferring means foF-a period" s'ii-ificient' to transferapredetermined; charge 0t torn ito the collection: cliamber; saidcollctioii chamber: and dis'pensing means being constructe d to retainthe *tran'sferredcorn' againstdifiichai ge from the *CUllCfiGh chamber"diii iifg thtrans'fe'r of -corn thereto.

4. A popcorn dispenser comprising a storage chamber for:containingpopcorn to' b'e'oispensed, a "collection "chamber; means fortransferring corn fioihth' storage chamber- -into' the" c'oll'c tionchamber; means forflhdldiiig a -'s1ipp1y'=;ofcontainers;-"means for"feeding a container -rrrsm-- said sup ly ho1der-to* a delivery location;coin responsive control means" "operable to energize said-comtransferringanea'ns amend-container feeding mea-risfi in '-timedrelation to transfer e, quantityof com-"to the collection chamber-andto, feed a containerto thedeliverylocationgdie pensin'g means'**fordischargingthe com"from"-" said collection chamber and positioned todeliver the corn into the container at said delivery location, and timermeans operable to deenergize said corn transferring and containerfeeding means and to actuate said dispensing means after a predeterminedinterval from the energization of said corn transfer and containerfeeding means, said collection chamber and dispensing means beingconstructed to retain the transferred corn against discharge from thecollection chamber during transfer of corn thereto.

5. A popcorn dispenser comprising a storage chamber for containingpopcorn to be dispensed, a collection chamber, means for creating a flowof air from said storage chamber toward the collection chamber, meansfor entraining corn from the storage chamber in said flow of air to betransferred thereby into the collection chamber, means for holding asupply of containers, means for feeding a container from said supplyholder to a delivery location, common coin responsive control meanscontrolling said flow creating means and operable to render themeffective and said container feeding means to transfer a quantity ofcorn to the collection chamber and to feed a container to the deliverylocation, and dispensing means for discharging the corn from saidcollection chamber and positioned to deliver the corn into the containerat said delivery location, said collection chamber and dispensing meansbeing constructed to retain the transferred corn against discharge fromthe collection chamber during the transfer of corn thereto.

6. A popcorn dispenser comprising a storage chamber for containingpopcorn to be dispensed, a collection chamber, means for creating a flowof air from said storage chamber toward the collection chamber, meansfor entraining corn from the storage chamber in said flow of air to betransferred thereby into the collection chamber, means for holding asupply of containers, means for feeding a container from said supplyholder to a delivery location, common coin responsive control meanscontrolling said flow creating means and said container feeding meansand operable to render them eifective to transfer a quantity of corn tothe collection chamber and to feed a container to the delivery location,said control means including timer means operable to automaticallyinterrupt said transfer of corn after it has continued for a periodsufficient to fill the collection chamber, and dispensing means fordischarging the corn from said collection chamber and positioned todeliver the corn into the container at said delivery location, saidtimer means being operable to automatically actuate said dispensingmeans upon said interruption of the corn transfer, said collectionchamber and dispensing means being constructed to retain the transferredcorn against discharge from the collection chamber during the transferof corn thereto.

'7. A popcorn dispenser comprising a storage chamber for containingpopcorn to be dispensed. a collection chamber, means for creating a flowof air from said storage chamber toward the collection chamber, meansfor entraining corn from the storage chamber in said flow of air to betransferred thereby into the collection chamber, means for holding asupply of containers, means for feeding a container from said supplyholder to a delivery location, means for dispensing corn from thecollection chamber into a container at said delivery location, and coinresponsive control means operable to first energize said flow creatingmeans and said container to dispense the corn from the collection cham--ber into the container.

8. A popcorn dispenser comprising a storage chamber for containingpopcorn to be dispensed, a collection chamber, means for creating a fiowof air from said storage chamber toward the collection chamber, meansfor entraining corn from the storage chamber in said flow of air to betransferred thereby. into the collection chamber, means for holding asupply of containers, means for feeding a container from said supplyholder to a delivery location, means for dispensing corn from thecollection chamber into a container at said delivery location, and coinresponsive control means operable to first energize said flow creatingmeans and said container feeding means to transfer a quantity of corn tothe collection chamber and to feed a container to the delivery location,said control means being operable to automatically de-energize the flowcreating means after its energization for a period sufficient to fillthe collection chamber, and being operable then to automaticallyenergize said dispensing means to dispense the corn from the collectionchamber into the container.

9. A popcorn dispenser comprising a storage chamber for containingpopcorn to be dispensed, an overflow collection chamber adapted tocontain a given quantity of corn and to overflow downwardly any cornreceived in excess of said quantity, means for creating a flow of airfrom said storage chamber toward the collection chamber, means forentraining corn from the storage chamber in said flow of air to betransferred thereby into the collection chamber, means for holding asupply of containers, means for feeding a container from said supplyholder to a delivery location, coin responsive control means operable toenergize said flow creating means and said container feeding means totransfer a quantity of corn to the collection chamber and to feed acontainer to the delivery location, said control means including a timeroperable to automatically de-energize the fiow creating means after itsenergization for a period sulficient to overfill the collection chamber,and dispensing means for discharging the corn from said collectionchamber and positioned to deliver the corn into the container at saiddelivery location.

10. A popcorn dispenser comprising a storage chamber for containingpopcorn to be dispensed, an overflow collection chamber adapted tocontain a given quantity of corn and to overflow downwardly any cornreceived in excess of said quantity, means for creating a flow of airfrom said storage chamber toward the collection chamber, means forentraining corn from the storage chamber in said flow of air to betransferred thereby into the collection chamber, means for holding asupply of containers, means for feeding a container from said supplyholder to a delivery location, means for dispensing corn from thecollection chamber into a container at said delivery location, and coinresponsive control means operable to energize said flow creating meansand said container feeding means to transfer a quantity of corn to thecollection chamber and to feed a container tothe delivery location, saidcontrol means including a timer means operable to automaticallyde-energize the flow creating means after its energization for a periodsufiicient to overfill the collection chamber, and operable then toautomatically energize said dispensing means to dispense the corn fromthe collection chamber.

11. A popcorn dispenser comprising a storage chamber for containingpopcorn to be dispensed, a collection chamber, means for creating a flowof air from said storage chamber toward the collection chamber, meansfor entraining corn from the storage chamber in said flow of air to betransferred thereby into the collection chamber, means for holding asupply of containers, means for holding a single container at a deliverylocation, means for feeding a container from said supply holder to saidlast mentioned means, common coin responsive control means controllingsaid flow creating means and operable to render them effective and saidcontainer feeding means to transfer a quantity of corn to the collectionchamber and to feed a container to the delivery location, dispensingmeans for discharging the corn from said collection chamber andpositioned to deliver the corn into the container at said deliverylocation, and control means including a timer operable to automaticallyactuate said dispensing means after energization of said flow creatingmeans for a period sufiicient to transfer a predetermined charge of cornto said collection chamber, said collection chamber and dispensing meansbeing constructed to retain the transferred corn against discharge fromthe collection chamber during the transfer of corn thereto.

12. A popcorn dispenser comprising a storage chamber for containingpopcorn to be dispensed, a collection chamber, means for creating a flowof air from said storage chamber toward the collection chamber, meansfor entraining corn from the storage chamber in said flow of air to betransferred thereby into the collection chamber, means for holding asupply of containers, means for feeding a container from said supplyholder to a delivery location, coin responsive control means operable toenergize said flow creating means and said container feeding means intimed relation to transfer a quantity of corn to the collection chamberand to feed a container to the delivery location, dispensing means fordischarging the corn from said collection chamber and positioned todeliver the corn into the container at said delivery location,

and timer means operable to deenergize said flow creating and containerdelivering means after their energization for a predetermined period,and operable to then actuate said dispensing means in timed relation tosaid flow creating means and container feeding means, said collectionchamber and dispensing means being constructed to retain the transferredcorn against discharge from the collection chamber during transfer ofcorn thereto.

13. A popcorn dispenser comprising a storage chamber for containingpopcorn to be dispensed, a collection chamber, means for creating a flowof air from said storage chamber toward the collection chamber, meansfor entraining corn from the storage chamber in said flow of air to betransferred thereby into the collection chamber, means for holding asupply of containers, means for feeding a container from said supplyholder to a delivery location, coin responsive control means operable toenergize said flow creating means and said container feeding meanssimultaneously to transfer a quantity of corn to collection chamber andto feed a container to the delivery location, and means for dispensingthe corn from said collection chamber and positioned to deliver the corninto the container at said delivery location, means for actuating saiddispensing valve, and timer means operable to automatically de-energizethe flow creating means after its energization for a period sufficientto transfer a predetermined charge of corn to the collection chamber,said timer means being automatically operable after said de-energizationof the flow creating means to energize said valve actuating means todischarge said corn, said collection chamber and valve being constructedto retain the transferred corn against discharge from the collectionchamber during transfer of corn thereto.

WILLIS E. CLARK. JOHN E. BEALL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 310,905 Milbank Jan. 20, 1885 1,035,348 Jannell Aug. 13, 19122,051,344 Parks et a1. Aug. 18, 1936 2,258,548 Doutrich Oct. '7, 19412,286,165 Balton June 9, 1942 2,413,446 Glassner Dec. 31, 1946

